1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to stands for printers and, more particularly, to improved stands which accomodate a wide variety of printers while allowing paper storage underneath the printer and feeding of that paper to such variety of printers.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A variety of printer stands and support devices have been developed in which a peripheral printer is supported above a support surface to permit storage of a supply of printer paper under the printer. The stand also may position the printer at a particular selected angle to the support surface. Typically, the stands are constructed of metal and rubber padding or of molded plastic. The supply of paper normally is a continuous accordion-folded strip with appropriate feeder strips along the edges and cross-perforations for sheet separation after printing, as desired.
Due to the diversity of designs and sizes of the printers which are or will become available, there is a need for a printer stand which is able to accommodate a variety of shapes and sizes of printers with paper feed openings in various positions. Varying widths of printers require stands which insure support capability at a wide range of locations. Further, the varying locations of paper feed openings among types of printers requires alteration of printer stand structure to allow paper feed and yet maintain an adequate support structure. For example, some printers require a bottom paper feed while other printers require a rear paper feed; some require a feed which is centered laterally of the printer while others require a feed which is offset toward one edge or the other; and some have a paper feed very near one or both lateral edges while others are spaced from both edges.
Some prior art stands which have attempted to meet these various needs have utilized metal rod structures. However, such stands do not provide a paper guiding means or readily accommodate a variety of printers. Other prior art stands constructed of plastic are of fixed dimension. This further limits their versatility and ability to accommodate varying printers.
The printer stand of the present invention provides flexibility and universality by being capable of handling both rear and bottom feed printers and a variety of designs and sizes of printers.